Wiccans only: Does J.K rowling get her inspiriation from the occult?

Question

Do any of your spells have anything to do with J.K rowling?

In Harry Potter, there are tarot cards, look here: http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Tarot_cards

"Avada Kedavra" came from an occult tribe where it meant heal

I mean, are any Harry Potter spells connected or linked to paganism?

Answer 1

I read the entire Potter series with my kids... and no, Rowling is not influenced by "real spellcasters".



JKR is influenced by literature... and literature has occasionally incorporated occult beliefs-- either real or imagined-- usually twisting them to fit the story.



Avada Kedavra was not an "occult tribe" word. It was a twisted form of "Avra Kadavrai" which is Hebrew for "I will create as my words"... another butchered version (abracadabra) has long been used in folk/healing magic and was seized on as a 'word of power' by Alister Crowley.



But it doesn't kill anyone, and words only have the meaning you give them; they have no inherent power of their own except the power they hold over you by the meaning you ascribe them.



I've been Wiccan for 23 yrs, my husband has been Pagan longer-- there is nothing in the Harry Potter books that are remotely related to our religion.



Our kids (brought up in our Pagan faith) would laugh when people asked that. It's just fantasy. It's not even remotely similar.





Tarot cards, by the way, were originally & for most of their existance, a Christian system of divintion... not Pagan.

Answer 2

Ok, you're talking about a couple different things. "Wicca" and "paganism" are terms that refer to religion. There's nothing religious in Rowling's book. So this has nothing to do with Wicca or any other form of paganism.



Tarot cards are neither Wiccan nor pagan. Actually, the people who invented them were Christians, although that doesn't make them Christian either. They are a method of divination, and divination is not religion-specific.



I have no idea what you mean by "occult tribe". According to Rowling, she did use an Aramaic magic word meant to destroy sickness. Of course, in her version it destroys life. I'd be hard pressed to say that a link to much of anything. She just borrowed a word, even giving it a totally different purpose. Aramaic is the language Jesus likely spoke, as did the majority of Jews at time. There are other people, however, who also spoke Aramaic.



The magic words in HP are nonsense words. They don't come from established rituals. most don't even come from a real language. They aren't real words.



Moreover, magical systems (again, different from paganism) are not about just pointing and yelling a word. no one can seriously expect that to produce results.

Answer 3

Yes, she does. Rowling is adept in the occult and has herself made statements that indicate as much.



She uses occult numerology, Potter's wand was 11 inches for example. Harry was 11 when admitted to Hogwarts. The Hogwarts Express Train left at 11 o'clock from Platform Nine and Three-Quarters.



Rowling consistently depicts both kinds of reality in which the Satanist believes he operates: the Real World and Fantasy World.



Non-magical people are looked down upon, boring and called muggles.



The History of Magic course was taught by a ghost.



Rowling accurately depicts Witchcraft and Satanism. Professor Quirrell told Harry, "There is no good or evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it ." [p. 291] This is standard Witchcraft, and standard Illuminist doctrine.

Answer 4

Of course.



Also consider the Catholic Mass is pure ceremonial magic. Highly institutionalized. The priest channels Jesus Christ, and changes an unleavened wafer and wine into his body and his blood. Wicca does this in its own manner (Calling Down the Moon), as does many other magic based religions.



With Harry Potter it is fantasy, superhero magic, and not occult or ceremonial at all. It does bear some of the trappings of the occult, but it isn't. Is the bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger a superhero? No, though he does bear some of the trappings.

Answer 5

It seems that Rowling did some research regarding Western Occultism for her novels but the material is used to help create texture and advance a fictional story about a magical universe and not to accurately portray the demimonde of Western Occultism or act as a primer for it. That she took this step shows that she is a good writer not necessarily an occultist. A fantasy fiction series I am working on (for adults) also contains a lot of information that refers to Western occultism and Eastern and Western mysticism because I have background in these things, but the books are meant for insight and entertainment, not to indoctrinate someone into a belief or practice.



In real Western Occultism, men and women identify as mages or sorcerers (not wizards or witches). In modern Western folk magic tradition, men and women both identify as witches (not as wizards and witches--but no one who practiced folk magic before about the late 19th century called him or herself a "witch." Such people were called cunning folk, or wise man/woman, a fixer, healer, or else a mage or sorcerer/sorceress).



Avada Kedavra is a variation of "Abracadabra," which was written in a magic square and thought to have magical healing powers. Magical squares and anagrams were very popular during the medieval times (among Christians) and probably got their start in games similar to Sodoku that were popular among the ancient Romans.



Western Occultism and Paganism are 2 different things. Pagan (pre-Christian cultures, that is) were just as squeamish about magic as the Christian culture actually. A lot of Western Occultism, however, emerged as an alternative expression of medieval Hermetic Christianity. Who preserved, compiled, and even wrote many of the medieval grimoire (magical books) we have access to? clerics within the Christian Church, that's who.



So, please, enjoy your Harry Potter books. It is a great fantasy series for young adults about friendship and heroism and righting wrongs that will go down in history as a major classic.

Answer 6

There don't seem to be that many fries in a comfortable meal to start with. I think they should be called pensive ingredients. I really get deep into the meal even as rounding the corner of the force thru, at all times wondering if i'm going to get the boy toy I've asked for. And wondering if God will condemn me for having the nerve to ask for a boy toy. I do know He will not, however I still get all worked up. Why do Wiccans and Christians get all labored up? I consider I work with a Wiccanish lady and we speak about herbs and the supernatural better collectively than my supposedly fellow Christians who don't seem to believe in anything past the smudges on their lenses. It is amusing to me.

Answer 7

what is that? witches flying on brooms? No that's Christianity.